Best tv shows like It Takes a Thief
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
It Takes a Thief is an American action-adventure television series that aired on ABC for two and a half seasons between January 9, 1968, and March 24, 1970. It starred veteran movie actor Robert Wagner in his television debut as sophisticated thief Alexander Mundy, who works for the U.S. government in return for his release from prison. For most of the series, Malachi Throne played Noah Bain, Mundy's boss. It was among the last of the 1960s spy television genre, although Mission: Impossible continued for several years. It Takes A Thief was inspired by, though not based upon, the 1955 Cary Grant motion picture To Catch a Thief, directed by Alfred Hitchcock; both of their titles stem from the English proverb "It takes a thief to catch a thief.".
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 51 min
Plot tags: exciting, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious, vintage
Best tv shows and movies like It Takes a Thief (1968):
Similar in 81%
Jason King (1971)
Plot Summary:
Jason King - a suavely sophisticated former secret agent turned novelist - travels the world searching for material to fill his books, encountering an endless parade of glamorous women, exotic locales, menacing villains and daring intrigue! Before Austin Powers swung into action, Jason King set the standard for the hip crime-fighting international playboy!.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 325
Genere: Action, Adventure
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 82%
The Delta Factor (1970)
Plot Summary:
Action-packed espionage thriller based on a book by Mickey Spillane. A man who has been framed for a large-scale robbery escapes from prison, but is caught and given a choice between returning behind bars and working for the CIA. He is enlisted to rescue a scientist from a dictator-run island, disguised as a drug dealer with another agent posing as his wife, while simultaneously plotting to prove his innocence.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 177
Genere: Adventure, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: independent film, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 83%
CHAOS (2011)
Plot Summary:
A comedic drama about a group of rogue CIA spies in the Office of Disruptive Services (ODS), who combat threats to national security amidst bureaucratic gridlock, rampant incompetence and political infighting.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: realistic, semi serious, thrilling, humorous
Similar in 86%
I Spy (1965)
Plot Summary:
I Spy is an American television secret-agent adventure series. It ran for three seasons on NBC from 1965 to 1968 and teamed Robert Culp as international tennis player Kelly Robinson with Bill Cosby as his trainer, Alexander Scott. The characters' travels as ostensible "tennis bums", Robinson playing talented tennis as an amateur with the wealthy in return for food and lodging, and Scott tagging along, provided a cover story concealing their roles as top agents for the Pentagon. Their real work usually kept them busy chasing villains, spies, and beautiful women. The creative forces behind the show were writers David Friedkin and Morton Fine and cinematographer Fouad Said. Together they formed Three F Productions under the aegis of Desilu Studios where the show was produced. Fine and Friedkin were co-producers and head writers, and wrote the scripts for 16 episodes, one of which Friedkin directed. Friedkin also dabbled in acting and appeared in two episodes in the first season. Actor-producer Sheldon Leonard, best known for playing gangster roles in the 1940s and '50s, was the executive producer. He also played a gangster-villain role in two episodes and appeared in a third show as himself in a humorous cameo. In addition, he directed one episode and served as occasional second-unit director throughout the series.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Adventure
Country: USA
Duration: 51 min
Plot tags: exciting, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, witty, cynical, stylized, semi serious
Similar in 86%
The Professionals (1977)
Plot Summary:
The lives of Bodie and Doyle, top agents for Britain's CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their controller, George Cowley. The mandate of CI5 was to fight terrorism and similar high-profile crimes. Cowley, a hard ex-MI5 operative, hand-picked each of his men. Bodie is a cynical ex-SAS paratrooper and mercenary whose nature ran to controlled violence, while his partner, Doyle, comes to CI5 from the regular police force, and is more of an open minded liberal. Their relationship is often contentious, but they are the top men in their field, and the ones to whom Cowley always assigned to the toughest cases.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, controversial
Similar in 81%
Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983)
Plot Summary:
Scarecrow and Mrs. King is an American television series that aired from October 3, 1983, to May 28, 1987 on CBS. The show stars Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner as divorced housewife Amanda King and top-level "Agency" operative Lee Stetson who begin a strange association, and eventual romance, after encountering one another in a train station.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, humorous, semi serious, iconic
Similar in 82%
The Wrecking Crew (1968)
Plot Summary:
When Count Contini attempts to destroy the world's economy by masterminding the theft of $1 billion in U.S. gold, ICE chief MacDonald summons secret agent Matt Helm to stop him.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, exciting, suspenseful, semi serious, spy comedy, technicolor, cult classic, crime thriller, spoof
Similar in 78%
Agent X (2015)
Plot Summary:
Hidden from the view of the public - and even from the President - there is a top secret agent who is trained and ready to serve, deployed only at the careful discretion of the Vice President.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful, captivating, tense, political, action adventure
Similar in 75%
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964)
Plot Summary:
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement agency called U.N.C.L.E. Originally co-creator Sam Rolfe wanted to leave the meaning of U.N.C.L.E. ambiguous so it could be viewed as either referring to "Uncle Sam" or the United Nations. Concerns by the MGM Legal department about possible New York law violations for using the abbreviation "U.N." for commercial purposes resulted in the producers clarifying that U.N.C.L.E. was an acronym for the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. Each episode of the television show had an "acknowledgement" credit to the U.N.C.L.E. on the end titles.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime
Country: USA
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: retro, exciting, humorous, suspenseful, semi serious, fast, parody, freeze frame, homoerotic, vintage
Similar in 86%
Renegade (1992)
Plot Summary:
Renegade is an American television series that ran for 110 episodes spanning 5 seasons, first broadcast between September 19, 1992 and April 4, 1997. The series was created by Stephen J. Cannell. Executive Producers included Cannell, Stu Segall, Bill Nuss and Richard C. Okie. The series stars Lorenzo Lamas as Reno Raines, a police officer who is framed for a murder he had not committed. Raines goes on the run and joins forces with Native American bounty hunter Bobby Sixkiller, played by Branscombe Richmond. Stephen J. Cannell also had a recurring role as the main villain, crooked police officer Donald 'Dutch' Dixon.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, detective, vintage
Similar in 79%
Cover Up (1984)
Plot Summary:
Cover Up is an American action/adventure television series that aired for one season on CBS from September 22, 1984 to April 6, 1985. Created by Glen A. Larson, the series stars Jennifer O'Neill, Jon-Erik Hexum, Antony Hamilton, and Richard Anderson.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 699
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: action adventure
Similar in 82%
Callan (1967)
Plot Summary:
Callan is the title of a British television series set in the murky world of espionage. Originally produced by ABC Weekend Television and later Thames Television, it was aired on the ITV network over four seasons spread out between 1967 and 1972. The series starred Edward Woodward as David Callan, a reluctant professional killer for a shadowy branch of the British Government's intelligence services known as 'the Section'.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 835
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: neo noir
Similar in 76%
Undercovers (2010)
Plot Summary:
Five years after leaving the CIA to open a catering company, Steven and Samantha Bloom are recruited back into the agency by Carlton Shaw. They take on special missions the average agent cannot handle. Having made a pact to never discuss their pasts with each other, the Blooms find surprising new things about their spouse in the course of each mission.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, exciting, humorous, semi serious, sexy, fast
Similar in 84%
The Green Hornet (1966)
Plot Summary:
A newspaper publisher and his Asian valet/martial arts expert battle crime as the feared Green Hornet and Kato. After Bruce Lee's untimely death in 1973, and the global success of 'Enter The Dragon', two 90-minute feature films were created to capitalise on Lee's worldwide stardom. The first of these films, Green Hornet, was released theatrically in 1974. Starring Bruce Lee as Kato and Van Williams as The Green Hornet, the film capitalised on the existing popularity of the 1960s crime-fighting duo. Edited with bruce Lee's star power in mind, the film has an abundance of spectacular fight scenes.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: semi serious, exciting, suspenseful, captivating, tense, realistic, fast, vintage
Similar in 82%
Soldier of Fortune, Inc. (1997)
Plot Summary:
Soldier of Fortune, Inc. was a television show created by Dan Gordon which ran for two seasons, from 1997–1999 The show was about an elite team who performed "unofficial" missions for the US Government. During the first season, the show dealt with terrorists and drug lords, and often tackled issues such as patriotism and self-sacrifice. For the second season, the show was renamed SOF: Special Ops Force. Andrews and Sheppard left the show. Dennis Rodman and David Eigenberg replaced them, though their "hip" characters and new plots led many to abandon the show, leading to its cancellation. The theme song was performed by Trevor Rabin. During the second season, a voice-over by Peter Graves was added.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 503
Genere: Action, Adventure
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 82%
The A-Team (1983)
Plot Summary:
The A-Team is an American action-adventure television series, running from 1983 to 1987, about a fictional group of ex United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". A feature film based on the series was released by 20th Century Fox on June 11, 2010. A comic book series, A-Team: Shotgun Wedding, began March 9, 2010.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 41000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious, tense, retro, bad ending, detective, rough, humorous
Similar in 88%
MacGyver (1985)
Plot Summary:
MacGyver is an American action-adventure television series created by Lee David Zlotoff. Henry Winkler and John Rich were the executive producers. The show ran for seven seasons on ABC in the United States and various other networks abroad from 1985 to 1992. The series was filmed in Los Angeles during seasons 1, 2 and 7, and in Vancouver during seasons 3–6. The show's final episode aired on April 25, 1992, on ABC. Episode List The show follows secret agent Angus MacGyver, played by Richard Dean Anderson, who works as a troubleshooter for the fictional Phoenix Foundation in Los Angeles and as an agent for a fictional United States government agency, the Department of External Services. Educated as a scientist, MacGyer served as a Bomb Team Technician/EOD during the Vietnam War. Resourceful and possessed of an encyclopedic knowledge of the physical sciences, he solves complex problems with everyday materials he finds at hand, along with his ever-present duct tape and Swiss Army knife. He prefers non-violent resolutions and prefers not to handle a gun, but will if necessary.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 41000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 48 min
Plot tags: realistic, exciting, serious, suspenseful, stylized, intellectual, retro, scenic, action adventure, relaxing
Similar in 78%
The Six Million Dollar Man (1974)
Plot Summary:
The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for a fictional government office known as OSI. The series is based on the Martin Caidin novel Cyborg, which was the series's proposed title during pre-production. Following three television movies aired in 1973, The Six Million Dollar Man aired on the ABC network as a regular series for five seasons from 1974 to 1978. The title role of Steve Austin was played by Lee Majors, who subsequently became a pop culture icon of the 1970s. A spin-off series, The Bionic Woman, ran from 1976-78. Several television movies featuring both eponymous characters were also produced between 1987 and 1994.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, exciting, suspenseful, retro, tense, disturbing, vintage, campy
Similar in 78%
Charlie's Angels (1976)
Plot Summary:
Charlie's Angels is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 1976 to June 1981, producing five seasons and 110 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by Aaron Spelling. It plotted the adventures of three females working in a private detective agency in Los Angeles, California, and initially starred Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett-Majors, and Jaclyn Smith in the leading roles. David Doyle co-starred as a sidekick to the three women and John Forsythe played the voice of their boss. Later additions to the cast included Cheryl Ladd, who entered the series in season two, Shelley Hack, in season four, and Tanya Roberts, in season five. Despite mixed reviews from critics and a reputation for merely being "Jiggle TV," the show enjoyed an astonishing popularity with audiences, and was a top ten hit for its first few seasons. Because later cast changes were not well-received and the public's taste changed, the show concluded a five-year run in the spring of 1981. The series continues to have a cult and pop culture following through syndication, DVD releases, and subsequent film remakes.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sexy, exciting, realistic, stylized, semi serious, retro, erotic, detective, vintage, telenovela
Similar in 86%
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1996)
Plot Summary:
Two globetrotting private eyes with diferente styles team up, guarding their true identities at all costs from the bad guys‒and from each other.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 696
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious
Similar in 87%
The Saint (1962)
Plot Summary:
The Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character Simon Templar, played by Roger Moore as a suave and sophisticated Robin Hood-like adventurer. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the initial letters of his name are also an abbreviation for the word saint. When taking on an American persona, he would often use the name Sebastian Tombs. As a result of the strong performance in the US of the first two black-and-white series in first-run syndication, NBC picked up the show as a summer replacement in its evening schedule in 1966. The programme therefore ended its run with both trans-Atlantic prime time scheduling and colour episodes. It also proved popular beyond the UK and US, eventually airing in over 60 countries, and made a profit in excess of £350m for ITC. With almost 120 episodes, the programme is exceeded only by The Avengers as the most productive show of its genre produced in the UK.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: detective, serious, realistic, vintage, cult film
Similar in 89%
Target of Opportunity (2005)
Plot Summary:
Jim Jacobs and Nick Carlton, childhood friends, are CIA operatives on a sting operation in Chechnya. The raid of a rebel militia group goes bad and the entire teams gets wiped out except for Jim and Nick, who manages to save them both. Five years later, they are out of the CIA game.
IMDB Rating: 3.8
IMDB Votes: 241
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Bulgaria
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: exciting, realistic, rough, serious, suspenseful, fast
Similar in 89%
Mission: Impossible (1966)
Plot Summary:
Mission: Impossible is an American television series that was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicles the missions of a team of secret government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force. In the first season, the team is led by Dan Briggs, played by Steven Hill; Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, takes charge for the remaining seasons. A hallmark of the series shows Briggs or Phelps receiving his instructions on a recording that then self-destructs, followed by the theme music composed by Lalo Schifrin. The series aired on the CBS network from September 1966 to March 1973, then returned to television for two seasons on ABC, from 1988 to 1990, retaining only Graves in the cast. It later inspired a popular series of theatrical motion pictures starring Tom Cruise, beginning in 1996.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, exciting, serious, stylized, suspense, retro, action adventure, fast, cult classic
Similar in 82%
Legends (2014)
Plot Summary:
Working for the FBI's Deep Cover Operations division, Martin Odum can transform himself into a different person -- whether it's an assignment as a Serbian extremist, a corrupt Chicago police officer, a British special forces colonel, or a legendary computer hacker. But when he learns that his life, itself, may be a lie, he faces the demands of his job and a desire to solve the mystery of his identity. And given the choice between the two, Odum doesn't always make the right decision. From the producers of "Homeland," "Legends" is based on Robert Littell's award-winning book.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, realistic, detective, action adventure, gloomy
Similar in 79%
Airwolf (1984)
Plot Summary:
Airwolf is an American television series that ran from 1984 until 1987. The program centers on a high-tech military helicopter, code named Airwolf, and its crew as they undertake various missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War theme. The show was created by Donald P. Bellisario. The first three seasons star Jan-Michael Vincent, Ernest Borgnine, Alex Cord, and Jean Bruce Scott. After the original series was cancelled, a fourth season, with an entirely new cast and on a much smaller budget, was filmed in Canada for the USA Network. The show's distinctive musical score, which was originally orchestral-based and shifted to more synthesizer-oriented arrangements early in the second season, was composed and conducted mainly by Sylvester Levay. Udi Harpaz conducted the scores for many later second and third season episodes.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, tense, captivating, fast, vintage
Similar in 84%
NCIS: New Orleans (2014)
Plot Summary:
A drama about the local field office that investigates criminal cases affecting military personnel in The Big Easy, a city known for its music, entertainment and decadence.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: serious, exciting, realistic, suspenseful, tense, detective
Similar in 85%
The Bionic Woman (1976)
Plot Summary:
After fully recovering from her near fatal bout of bionic rejection, Jaime Sommers, the first female cyborg, is assigned to spy missions of her own.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, retro, captivating, suspense, vintage
Similar in 78%
Agent Carter (2015)
Plot Summary:
It's 1946, and peace has dealt Peggy Carter a serious blow as she finds herself marginalized when the men return home from fighting abroad. Working for the covert SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve), Peggy must balance doing administrative work and going on secret missions for Howard Stark all while trying to navigate life as a single woman in America, in the wake of losing the love of her life - Steve Rogers.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 88000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: semi serious, tense, captivating, exciting, suspenseful, saga, detective, period piece, deep, fast
Similar in 75%
The Equalizer (1985)
Plot Summary:
The Equalizer is an American television series that ran for four seasons, initially on CBS, between 1985 and 1989. It stars Edward Woodward as a middle aged retired intelligence officer with a mysterious past who helps people in trouble. The show mixes ingredients from popular spy films and private investigator shows with violent realism. A film adaptation starring Denzel Washington was released in 2014.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 48 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, detective, neo noir
Similar in 86%
Burn Notice (2007)
Plot Summary:
A formerly blacklisted spy uses his unique skills and training to help people in desperate situations.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 78000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: exciting, semi serious, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, detective, political, anime, grindhouse, crime drama